:: TechBlog ::

i just signed up for a Scribd account and i must say: i am really impressed.
the site is clean, and full of useful functionality. you don’t even need to signup to start using Scribd. you can simply upload a document to see it in action. Scribd will convert your document into an embedded pdf viewer and provide multiple methods of downloading and sharing you work.

here’s a great example (from their front page) of why i think that Scribd is such a great new web-based service (also one of the reasons i signed up):

i was able to resize the embed, favorite it, and as you can see it is downloadable in various formats like: adobe .pdf, word .doc, text file, and even streaming audio.

the whole experience was very intuitive, and since Scribd is extremely easy to use, i found myself compelled to read through the entire document (above) whereas under normal circumstances (ie: if it wasn’t already embedded in the page) i probably wouldn’t have. it sounds crazy, but a regular “download this pdf” link is usually one too many steps for me to take - and i would have just skipped over this “hidden” content, or downloaded it to my desktop and read it later (possibly never).

with Scribd, instead of asking myself: do i really want to download this? - i was already on the 4th page before i even thought of asking myself: do i really want to be reading this?

great app, a real keeper!